by Angie Briceño | Sep 22, 2017
October 12th, also known as the Day of Races or the Day of Cultures, is celebrated in the American continent to commemorate the discovery of the well-known explorer Cristobal Colon.
However, over the years, the main reason for this holiday has gradually changed into a celebration of the mix of cultures that’s been experienced all over America.
Costa Rica is not the exception. It enjoys a great cultural diversity, being the home of more than 47 nationalities. Our home, the Peninsula of Nicoya is a key place for interculturalism in our country and Futuro Verde is not left behind.
Here, in Futuro Verde, we share with more than 30 different nationalities among teachers, staff and families. We celebrate a diversity of cultures every day, always cultivating respect and tolerance towards others.
by Debbie Bruylant | Sep 21, 2017
Do you know how to determine the water quality of a river? What parameters should you take into account? What equipment do you need to carry out the analysis?
Four students from Futuro Verde inquired about these questions in the month of June 2017. Together with their environmental education teacher and three students from the National University, they explored the Danta River in Santa Teresa with the aim of evaluating its water quality in the framework of a project that seeks to promote the scientific learning of the students, generate awareness about the country’s water resources and involve students in community problems.
After an informative session at the institution, the students took samples of the Danta River at two different locations on June 3rd, 2017. Our student scientists came to the following conclusions: the visual analysis of the river clearly shows the effect of the lack of urban planning, the lack of macro-invertebrates is alarming in both points, and the physical and chemical parameters describe a river that suffers from contamination.
With the arrival of new scientific sampling equipment to our FV lab, we will be exploring more rivers in the community! One of the objectives of “We are all water” is to extend the activity to community members. If you are interested in learning about the water quality of the rivers in our area and collaborating with our student scientists we invite you to contact Javier Cáceres at
Javier@futuro-verde.org.
by David Brookshire, MPH/ School Counselor & Special Education Case Manager | Sep 18, 2017
Our IB learner profile value for the month of October is “Balanced.” This value is described by the International Baccalaureate organization in the following way:
“We understand the importance of intellectual, physical, and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others (IB 2017).”
My favorite way to discuss this topic with students comes from research in the field of positive psychology. The 5 ways to well-being are practices we can all incorporate in our lives, the research shows, to achieve intellectual, physical, and emotional balance. Here they are as a great reminder for how we can all make choices to enrich our own lives:
- Connect – By making connections with friends, family, colleagues. and neighbors, we add value to our lives with new experiences and opportunities. We can also connect with nature by prioritizing time outside.
- Be Active – By making time to move, exercise not only makes us feel good and it keeps us healthy. The benefits for mental health, physical health, and learning are profound and supported by decades of research.
- Take Notice – By being mindful, curious, and aware, like a child, we can see the wonder and beauty of the world around us. Noticing surroundings, with new appreciation, allows us to be present and grateful for all of the positive aspects of our lives
- Keep Learning – There’s no reason to ever stop learning. By trying something new, a new hobby you’ve been wanting to take up, or a more challenging task at work, challenges and novel experiences keep us alert and increase our confidence and satisfaction throughout the day.
- Give – Choosing to be generous, whether with time, knowledge, talents, or service; provides great reward for ourselves and those around us. It’s a true win/win for everybody and a great way to boost happiness.
By taking a proactive, mindful approach to balance and well-being, we can teach our children, and remind ourselves, how to create equilibrium and happiness in our lives.
by Lural Ramirez | Sep 3, 2017
Our Futuro Verde community have been so enthusiastic regarding the recent improvements made to our campus as we comply with the requirements of IB* verification! Read below for a summary of the improvements we’ve had and the students who will access these beautiful, new spaces.
- State of the art science laboratory: designed to support exploration and experimentation, our science lab features science counters with stations for up to four students to work together as they do experiments. Each station features a sink, gas connection for a Bunsen burner and electrical outlet. Our adjacent science prep room keeps all our lab materials and equipment safe and ready for student use! Beakers, graduated cylinders, scientific sensors, petri dishes, microscopes and much, much more. Our science lab is a space that all students, preschool through secondary, will use in science and environmental education classes!
- Big and welcoming school library: with separate library wings for preschool/primary and secondary, all students in Futuro Verde have full access to our continually growing collection of books. We have over 4,000 books in our collection currently, all cataloged within a library inventory system and with a schedule for weekly visit and lending processing for all grade levels. Comfortable seating, private study space and a beautiful mural welcome our students to develop their love of reading daily! Our collection ranges from board books for our preschoolers to non-fiction texts on global warming for our oldest students and all the way to classic literature in both Spanish and English and texts in multiple languages other than Spanish and English (Hebrew, French, German and Italian- just to name a few!). Our school library is a space that all students, preschool through secondary, access daily during both free play times, before and after school times and integrated into regular classroom instruction and learning!
- Spacious multi-media center: 20 desktop computers are available to our students of all ages in a dedicated computer lab, set up to support all multi-media needs. With regular technology classes at all grade levels, Futuro Verde students from preschool through high school learn about all aspects of Information Technology Systems. A new, and exciting, addition to our multi-media center is our school site license with EBSCO, which offers research databases for our students, Ebook collections for students in kindergarten through high school, access to thousands of online magazines and periodicals and so much more! Our multi-media center is a space that all students, preschool through secondary, use in support of their learning in all subject areas and classes!
- Dedicated and creative art studio: with two separate levels and an open design, all students from preschool through secondary enjoy weekly art classes in our dedicated art space, with adjacent and spacious art supply space full of art supplies and materials of all kinds. With a studio approach deeply rooted in our constructivist methodology, students explore collage, painting, drawing, printmaking and so much more! Coming soon: the electrical installation for our new pottery kiln! Our school art studio is a space that all students, preschool through secondary, use during their weekly art classes and access as desired during secondary flex blocks.
- Dedicated music classroom: constructivism is alive in our music classes with a balance between music theory, instrumental work and music creation for students from preschool through 11th grade at Futuro Verde. Recent improvements include new instruments for student use: two electric pianos, multiple professional quality recorders and percussion sets that join our current collection of string and wind instruments already available at the school. With new recording equipment currently en route from the US, we are excited for the upcoming music creation possibilities. Also, stay tuned for a new purpose built music classroom that is coming soon! Our music classroom is a space that all students, preschool through secondary, use during weekly music classes and access as desired during recess and flex blocks.
If you haven’t yet seen our new and renewed spaces in person, please come by for a tour and be amazed by our inspiring improvements. Remember, these changes, which directly supported our candidacy for IB*, now benefit Futuro Verde students of ALL ages and grade levels!
*Centro Educativo Futuro Verde is a candidate school* for the Diploma Programme. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy- a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that Centro Educativo Futuro Verde believes is important for our students.Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted.
For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit http://www.ibo.org
by Lural Ramirez | Sep 3, 2017
Futuro Verde is a unique school in that our students come to us from a wide variety of home communities; from just down the street and from long distances by bus each morning. In our ongoing efforts to assure our students have a schedule that best supports their learning and holistic well-being, we are proud to announce a shift to an 8:00 am start for all students for the 2018 school year!
Imagine having an extra 30 minutes each morning before school? What will you do with that extra time? Will you get some much needed extra sleep? Maybe catch a few more waves during your morning surf session? Or, just enjoy a calmer and easier family morning routine?
Whatever your family’s benefit is from this important schedule change, we hope you are excited for this new change!
Futuro Verde
Inspiration. Dedication. Innovation.
by Angie Briceño | Aug 23, 2017
When I was in New Zealand in 2015 studying their education system, I was awe struck by their commitment to early childhood education. The government of New Zealand funds 20 hours of preschool for every child beginning at age 3. New Zealand has a vision for the members of their society to be confident, connected, actively involved, and lifelong learners. They value excellence, innovation, inquiry and curiosity, diversity, equity, community and participation, ecological sustainability, and integrity. They also know that the path to confident, connected, actively involved lifelong learners begins at birth. They understand that an investment in preschool is cost effective because it only strengthens the economic and physical health and well-being of their society in the future.
I left New Zealand wishing that preschool were an option for every child in every country. Wherever preschool is optional and/or unfunded, it vastly downplays the importance of its role in a child’s development. Preschool is a place for exposure to language and numbers and science and the arts, and it is also the place where children form reciprocal relationships with peers and adults outside of their family. Where they learn to take turns and take responsible risks and problem solve. Preschool should be neither glorified babysitting nor kindergarten delivered earlier. Whereas reading, writing, and math should not be withheld from our youngest learners, the primary focus of preschool should be social and emotional development. When children don’t first learn to recognize, name, and problem solve their own emotions and conflicts, it makes academic learning of primary school content much more difficult. Going to preschool is like laying the foundation upon which a house will be built. It is time consuming and, if done right, eventually overlooked as the more interesting parts of the house are constructed. But if it is missing, it is much more difficult to find solid footing upon which to lay the bricks of the house.
